While trawling through a store recently, I was taken in by a charming sales lady. She welcomed me with great panache and directed me to a display with this cute French accent which immediately indicated ‘style’. I asked her to show me a particular piece of jewellery.
She fished out a glove from a small black leather pouch hanging on her belt, delicately placed the piece on a tray and presented it to me with a flourish. When I asked her a couple of questions about the product though, all she knew was the price and a general description, which any passerby would know.
I thought of Peter Drucker’s warning ‘beware the charismatic leader’ with a twist... ‘beware the charismatic salesman’!
We had last looked at different types of customers. Maybe it is time for a review of the different types of salespeople who serve you — and you can be sure there are many.
* The professional has ingrained the process of selling with training and experience. He sees his task as that of meeting the customer’s need and follows the logical steps of enquiry, interest, presentation, handling objections and closing with great finesse. The tack is followed religiously by insurance and finance salesmen, but you can also see it in many of the better stores.
And these salespersons set the standard for their colleagues. Professionals take pride in their chosen vocation. They are gems to be nurtured by employers and to be searched out by customers.
* The shy and quiet types: One of the basic requirements for a good sales person is being a communicator. But don’t underestimate the shy and quiet ones. Understated and soft in their approach, they are often able to quickly gain customer confidence and close deals with even the toughest customers.
In a multicultural environment where the lack of a common language is often a barrier, these people are able to break through with their gentle manners and style.
The bluffmaster is a common enough species. Superb talkers, they knock you off your feet with stories pulled out of the air making you comfortable and taking you on a journey which ends with you signing your credit card bill. They are able to cover their lack of knowledge about products with their loquacious style and get away with it.
The advisor: I am always a sucker for this ilk and invariably end up with a bigger bill than planned. Like the smooth old gentleman in Toronto who quietly insisted on laying out an array of jackets, shirts and ties all perfectly matched and to my specs, which resulted with me walking out with a bunch of jackets and clothes when I went to buy just one. What distinguishes advisors is their ability to win your trust and respect and their skill in matching the options available in their store exactly to what you want.
The know it all: Unfortunately, just as there are know-it-all customers, there are such sales persons too. They don’t stop chattering, engaging in talk that may or may not be relevant. With a large ego, they think they know what you want, what you need, and why you should have it. Not being good listeners, they are not the easiest of staff to manage. For the customer, avoidable.
* Helpful Henrietta is extremely concerned about you, willing to go the extra mile to help. She will spend hours searching the store and the back of house to find the one dress that you want. From the company’s point of view, such salespeople may be inconsistent in their results since they can get sucked into a few sales. But from a customer’s perspective they are to be prized and when you find one, stay with her.
Cheerful Charlie meets you with a smile, always ready to crack a joke. Easy to communicate with and quickly making friends, this is the perfect kind of salesman to tackle a difficult customer. Some may tend to be a bit like too much sugar in your tea, but better that than a Grumpy Goose (and there are those as well).
The Hunter is on the prowl, looking for the next target to pounce on. His one goal, like I often say, is to put the cap on your head. This kind of sales person is usually found in souqs where often the finer points of salesmanship are not as important as bagging the sale.
Being a salesperson can be one of the few jobs where the results of the person’s knowledge, skill and effort are directly measurable every day. Long hours on the feet can make it quite taxing and much of this often goes in just waiting. Good salespeople however are cherished by their employers as their constant ambassadors and by customers who enjoy their service.
The writer is a senior executive in a large retail group. These are his personal views.
